Good afternoon! I hope your day is off to a great start… I woke up thinking it was Saturday! I slept in this morning, which was glorious. Not too much on the agenda for today, which is A-OK with me 
Yesterday was slated to be a long run day, so I woke up, guzzled some coffee, and fueled up with half a Dulce de Leche Luna Bar.
I stuffed some gummies into the little pocket of my shorts (which left me a tad sticky)…
I finally made a new playlist… the No Doubt song has been in my head for the better part of this week.
The run was fine… again, I just felt sleepy. I think, for me, running distances is going to end up being more of a psychological challenge. Obviously the physical aspects are also great, and every time I go out for a run I hope so hard that it won’t be the day that something goes wrong again. The only thing that went “wrong” today was that my heart rate monitor didn’t register my actual heart rate…
Total distance: 6.4 miles
Total time: 1:07:55
I’m not sure if I should be concerned that I haven’t been increasing my speed for these long runs… and it’ll probably be time for me to increase my distance again soon, too. I just signed up for my first 10K a couple minutes ago- it’s next WEEK- so I’m going to have to start working on this!
My “training schedule” is a little weak, since I only have 8 days, but here’s what it looks like, which I made on the Runner’s World website:
When I got back from my run, I made another excellent fall smoothie: Cherry Pumpkin Pie.
I made this using frozen cherries, canned pumpkin pie mix, homemade almond milk, cinnamon and nutmeg, and topped it with a little GoLean & granola. After breakfast and a bunch of puttering around, I packed up my portable lunch. I wanted to use up all the leftovers, which, combined, made for an… interesting salad:
The bottom layer was covered with sprouts, topped with corn & edamame salad and beets; the small compartment had leftover fish and a few noodles. Some things, shall we say, do not taste great the morning after.
On the subway, I snacked on some TJ’s dried fruit. Balls to the wall, as my lady would say.
My dad had told me about a DMV that expedites all of their services, so luckily I was in and out (with a new picture!) in 20 minutes. Must be some kind of record. It was starting to rain, so I went into Starbucks and bought a Tall Skim Chai so that I could eat my lunch without getting drenched.
After taking a few minutes to read and decompress, I skedaddled along to an informational interview, then picked up a few books. The first was a beautiful collection of poems by my friend and former professor, Kristin Naca.
The second was A Race Like No Other, to motivate and inspire.
Then, in the spirit of racing, I rushed home to see my traveling musician, who has spent the last three weeks on his own kind of race, driving back and forth across the country with Blink 182 and the All American Rejects.
We grabbed some friends and went for dinner at a nearby Thai restaurant. I was still pretty full from lunch, so I only ate a little of my Massaman Curry with shrimp (with unpictured rice) and took the rest home.
A little while after we got home, however, I was hungry again, and dug right back into the take-out container 
Ari and I went separate ways for dessert; I had a Double Chocolate Dream Vitamuffin with frozen cherries, Greek yogurt, and homemade almond milk.
Ari had Saltines with Nutella & peanut butter.
Nutella is made with skim milk, hazelnuts (healthy fat), and chocolate (antioxidants), so it’s practically a health food!
We had a little Domaine Lalande Pinot Noir (a gift from Howard on my last day of work), and watched Grey Gardens, which Caitlin had recommended.
It was a great night… I’m so happy he’s back!
I’m off to go cross-train, as my training schedule recommends. What are your plans for the weekend? Enjoy it!
You had Phoenix in your playlist too! I need to get into their old stuff because all I have is their most recent album(yes, I’m one of those people) So glad you have Ari back home and I love how you rationalized Nutella. I can’t keep it in my apartment because I would want to eat the whole jar. My high school french teacher used to make Nutella crepes which were to die for. Have a good weekend!
Oh love the eats! Hmm I want some thai curry too! I love Nutella! Glad your man is back!
Have a wonderful weekend!
I definitely think long runs are more of a mental endurance thing, which is why I enjoy running my long runs with other people to get me going. Good luck training for the 6k and I’m happy for you that Ari is back!
GREAT title
Welcome back Ari! I’m super jealous he got to spend time with AAR. I saw them in one of their very first concerts, had all of them sign a poster, my old/awesome Dick’s purse strap, and got a hug from Taylor. Ah, memories of chasing bands 
Great job on the run! Don’t worry so much about the speed right now. It’ll come. I felt like I was running at the same speed for SO long and then all of sudden, I started getting a bit faster without even trying!
And Tragic Kingdom was definitely the best of No Doubt. I still love that cd.
Get out of here with that plate of saltines and Nutella/PB loving. Seriously! One of my staple snacks (along with my travel-mates) when I was in Europe was Ritz crackers dipped in Nutella. Salty-sweet perfection. I think that would be an amazing snack when we go to Switzerland
Woohoo for the 10k!! You’re going to do great!
aww! Ari IS awesome.
also, congrats on kicking those 6.4 runs in the butt
Love the picture of Ari with the Big Head. Remember The Big Suit/Talking Heads?
The cherry pumpkin pie smoothi sounds awesome! I may have to try that!
You are so cute! I love your posts. I had Nutella Gelato last night, does that count as health food too?
Thanks again so much for the advice…guess who’s getting something in the mail? Might be muffins…!
Haha I always get second winds when I’m “too full” at dinner. And I have been CRAVING saltines. I think I need to get them.
Have a great weekend!
what a cool website!! it makes training programs for you! im so going there right now.
i liked olive kitteridge, i mean it was good, not great. but i just finished sarah’s key and it was GREAT!!! definitely read it.
happy october
ps Ari is awesome. true story.
Before I realized that I really shouldnt be drinking milk b/c I am quite dairy intolerant, I used to gorge on Nutella. OMG I love that stuff! Sigh. It’s been years though. Anyway enjoy your weekend my dear!
I love that Luna bar & No Doubt, both.
I am finishing up the cleaning I started last weekend, super exciting right? I mayyy go to Ikea, but I can’t convince myself to go on a weekend. :-/
Oh Ari! I love your sense of humor and alterna hair.
Nutella is a great substitute (albeit non vegan) for chocolate on s’mores
Haha Ari rocks with the post title
Happy birthday & weekend to ya, dear Katie!! Chat soon xo
I’m so happy for you that Ari is back!
I’m telling you, anything involving pumpkin and cherries, must be delicious….I want your breakfast!
I have yet to try Nutella….think I’ll do that real soon
Have a great weekend!
I never would have thought to put cherries and pumpkin together–sounds fantastic! You’re such a smoothie genius.
Nutella is definitely a health food- I think it should have it’s own space on the food pyramid
Looks like a fun night!